


Chain Restaurants and the Beginnings of Friendship

by blae_kitta



Category: Dorohedoro
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, kinda mostly fluff, out for food, set after they kill that teacher, the beginning of their friendship kinda thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28426554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blae_kitta/pseuds/blae_kitta
Summary: After killing the the teacher, Aikawa asks Risu if he's hungry- and they go for lunch. Arguments and shenanigans ensue. Friendship (maybe more?) possibly blooms.
Relationships: Aikawa & Risu (Dorohedoro), Aikawa/Risu (Dorohedoro)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Chain Restaurants and the Beginnings of Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> When I was browsing tumblr, I saw someone comment that they wanted a fic like this written for Risu and Aikawa. So, having wanted to write a fic about Aikawa and Risu, I felt inspired and wrote this. I am unfortunately too lazy (as of now) to find that comment; so to that person, if you ever stumble upon this fic, this fic has sprung from you, and written (in part, at least) for you.
> 
> Unbeta'd- if you find outrageous spelling/grammar mistakes, please feel free to let me know in a kind manner
> 
> Happy reading :)

The truck drove away, it's wheels spinning and squeaking against the road. The design of the cross eye grew smaller and smaller, until the road twisted, and the truck turned, going out of sight. 

Risu sighed a long breath out, relieved that the whole teacher debacle was over. He let his shoulder slump slightly, only then becoming aware of their tenseness; compounded, a wave of exhaustion hit him, the adrenaline fading from his body. 

That was altogether too close. 

"So, where does that truck go?" A voice drawled, interrupting his thoughts.

Risu stiffened, glancing over at the gasmask wearing man, wary. 

"You don't need to know," he replied, a curt tone in his voice.

The less you know the better, he thought. 

The other man faced away from him, still looking towards the direction the truck had driven off to. Risu frowned, unsure of what the man was thinking, hampered by the mask upon his face and unsettled by his questions.

Suddenly, Aikawa turned to face him. The eyes behind the glass caught his own, dark and intense. Fear laced through him, icy hot as worst case scenarios played through his mind. 

"Say," Aikawa cheerily started, intense eyes crinkling up into a smile, "Do you wanna grab a bite to eat? I'm famished." 

He blinked, surprised at the offer; the thought of food reminded him that he had missed eating lunch today. He rubbed his wrist, unsure. 

"Sounds good." He replies after a pause, smiling awkwardly. Hiding a dead body does make one liable to be more friendly with one another, and Aikawa had just saved him.

"Sweet, I know a place not to far from here!" Aikawa chirps out, veritably grinning through the mask. 

"Here, come on." 

He reaches forward, grabbing Risu's hand, and tugging him away and up the street, turning down into a small side street. Once sure Risu is following him, Aikawa lets go of his hand, to tuck his own within his pockets, leading them through various alleys and side streets, weaving between them with familiarity. 

He seemed to do it all effortlessly, as he turned to look at Risu mostly as they walked. Risu was uncertain, on what to say; he had never been good at making friends, even within the cross eyes. Unsure on what to say, he remained silent; and the silence continued, growing fatter and heavier, making any comment he was originally going to say impossible. 

Then Aikawa broke it.

His voice, this time was not the cheery happy-go-lucky tone his voice previously had; it was serious, voice flat and deeper. As deep and serious as it had been when he had threatened the teacher. 

"You shouldn't get involved with the cross eyes." 

Risu freezes momentarily, surprised at the breaking of the silence, and then the gal of the man.

"Excuse me?"

"You shouldn't get involved with the cross eyes. They are dangerous." 

Aikawa looks at him directly, and Risu can see himself reflected in the glass of the mask.

Risu scowls, anger flaring up inside him. 

"I can handle myself, fuck off!" He hisses out. "Besides, aren't you exactly like me? These people are there to change the way society treats us." 

Aikawa coughs out a laugh, harsh and ugly. 

"You believe that bullshit they spout?"

"What the fuck is your issue," Risu spits, his hands balling into fists. 

"Look," Aikawa replies, unfazed-

"Ah! We're here!" He abruptly exclaims, and Risu freezes once more, startled. Aikwawa swings the door open to the shop, gesturing at Risu with a slight bow.

"After you!"

He just gazes, bewildered at the man, unsure and unfooted at the swift change of topic. His anger still lying coiled and hot within his gut. But he catches a waiter's eye, who is staring at them; most likely drawn by his aggressive stance and shouted words. The anger within him deflates, and he shuffles in.

Aikawa steps in right behind him, close enough that Risu can feel his body's warmth against his back. Risu steps forward quickly, feeling his cheeks warm, coughing slightly.

The waiter just waves at them casually, and Aikawa passes him as he snakes his way between tables to a booth in the corner pressed up against the window. 

Risu sighs as he follows Aikawa, letting the last of his anger ebb away and turning his thoughts to his hunger instead. Aikawa clearly didn't want to continue to talk about it, so he isn't going to bring it up again. 

Glancing around he takes a moment to take in the shop they had come into; a ramen bar, booths and tables scattered over the floor in close proximity. It screamed cheap fast food chain, with its bright gaudy colours and everything made of equally obnoxious coloured plastic. The day's deals, the prices in bright bubble text pinned up on the wall confirmed the atmosphere of what the place expressed. Cheap. 

Now that was something Risu could get behind. 

"Nice place here," he says, as he settles down at the table Aikawa is sprawled beside, flicking his eyes once again over the interior and raising one of his non-existent eyebrows. 

Aikawa actually laughes at that, a short deep thing, coloured with genuine amusement; wildly different than the one he had just heard outside. 

"Pretty decent food, been a couple times to these restaurants", he replies. "It's a chain, you see? Not bad for one though."

He laughs again, but only softly, as if to a inside joke.

The waiter drops by, passing them out their menus, and asking for drink orders.

Immediately, Aikawa cheerily flashes up his hand with two fingers extended.

"Two beers please! One for me and one for my friend." 

The waiter nods, and scuttles off. 

Risu blinks, surprised at Aikawa's blasé attitude and claim, feeling slightly abashed; but pushes it aside to focus upon the menu before him. He frowns, as he peruses it; mushroom after mushroom is listed as central ingredients to the ramen. A little strange, but he's not going to complain as long as it's good.

He glances up, opening his mouth to ask Aikawa what he'd recommend, curious to see what he would pick; but when he sees him, he slowly closes his mouth. Aikawa is aggressively perusing the menu, muttering to himself as he trails a finger down through the lists of ramen.

Risu most definitely had never seen Aikawa so focused like that in class, and he idly wonders that if Aikawa paid as much attention to his classes as to what food he is going order, he would perhaps become a strong sorcerer. Or at least, make some actual progress.

He snorts, thinking about even how much school time Aikawa is seen eating anyways. It is almost somewhat endearing. 

Thinking back, Risu frowns, realising he had always seen the man keep his mask on while eating. It was not that odd for people to not take their masks off to eat, but it struck him strangely that he had never seen the man's face. An unsettlingly strong curiosity flares up within him; and he hopes that Aikawa will take off his mask to eat. Glancing up, he stares at what is barely seen through the tinted glass- thick eyebrows (he ignores a stab of jealousy) and dark eyes, hints of what the man face looks like. 

He glances back down at his menu before he is caught staring. He should not be so curious about this; he has known many people which he has never seen without their masks, so why should Aikawa be any different?

He tries to shove it out of his mind, returning to perusing the menu; but his mind wanders and the words he is attempting to read remain entirely uncomprehended.

The tap of two beer cans being placed before them draws him back to his surroundings.

The waiter then clears their throat, notepad and a pen in hand, clicking it authoritatively. 

"Have you decided what to order?"

As the waiter turns to Risu, he feels his stomach drop. He had not made a decision yet. Instead, he had decided that spending the time was better spent thinking about the Aikawas face. Panicking, his eyes catch the lurid lettering of the days special on a flyer pinned to the wall. 

"Uuuuuuhhhhh, the days special please", he minces out after a long and awkward pause. 

He sighs, as the waiter turns to Aikawa, unsure of what he really got and wether he'd enjoy it. At least it's cheap, a few hundred yen off it's usual price, a consolation to himself and his perpetually thinning wallet.

The waiter turns to Aikawa expectantly.  
As he does, Aikawa opens his mouth, and begins to rattle off a long list. Risu's eyes widen as Aikawa continues on, his jaw dropping. 

Oh god, he wonders, does he think I'm paying for this and just freeloading for dinner? 

His stomach plummets at that thought, suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of nausea. He had just saved his life. He can't really refuse, can he?

But would he really order that much food?

He looks up at Aikawa nervously, watching him as the other man casually pops open his beer with a drawn out fiz, the ordering process done.

He can't tell. 

Slightly shaky, he opens his own beer, and steels himself for the potential absolute obliteration of his wallet. 

The beer is cold in his hand, the can slippery with persperation, and he feels some tension relax in him as he tastes it upon his tongue, light malt and the aftertaste of alcohol a familiar friend. 

As he dwells on his despair, movement catches his eye and he glances up to see Aikawa nimbly unsnap his mask and pop it off of his face and place it down onto the table. 

He stares, wallowing forgotten, fascinated at the man's face; the large dark and intense eyebrows he had only caught glimpses of through the mans mask dominating the man's face, his eyes almost a matching shade below them, his jaw square and dotted with stubble. 

Risu shivers, the blank expression upon Aikawa's face intense and terrifying. 

Immediately, Aikawa takes a swig of his own beer, and as he placed the can back down, he grins and his whole face lights up; the blank disinterested expression from before so at odds with the current one that it seems as if it were never there, and Risu can feel himself relaxing further.

They chat after that; or rather, Aikawa does a lot; inessecently asking him question after question, about school and food and what he thinks about certain classmates as they waited for their food to arrive. 

As he answers, Risu finds he could not help but stare at the other man's face, as if staring upon a hypnotic pattern. The man is so animated, his expressions flowing from one to other, and Risu finds them astounding to watch.

Through all that goofy and laid back exterior, of the emotion the man is expressing before him, Risu's brain reminds him quietly of the swift arc of the man's arm, and the splatter of scarlet against the door as the man had dropped from the vent above the teacher. Of the coiled danger of the man, an icy vastness behind the warm exterior. But he had saved him; and besides, everyone is in their own way dangerous, and the man's violence was and is not pointed towards him.

Aikawa repeats a a question, looking at him in curiousity, and Risu focuses again upon their conversation, discarding his thoughts, feeling as if he had come to a fair decision. 

They are interrupted, as the waiter comes, sliding the appetizers in front of them; a few plates of gyoza. Aikawa pauses mid breath and began shoveling in the gyoza deftly with his chopsticks instead. He waves at his gyoza, raising his eyebrows, and exclaims something that is garbled beyond comprehension.

Risu squints, unsure; but Aikawa shoves a plate of gyoza his way, and the gesture I easy enough to read.

Tentatively, Risu places a few delicately down onto his small plate.

Seeing the small amount he took, Aikawa waves again, exclaiming another jumbled untranslatable word and picks up one of the plates and slides more gyoza into a heap on his plate. 

Risu blinks at first, surprised at the man's pushiness, but then smiles wryly as the thoughts of him paying for everything come back into mind, and he digs in, dipping them into their sauce and letting the rich and lightly oily pork, garlic and green onion flavour burst upon his tongue. 

Just as Risu licks his lips clean from the last of the sauce from the gyozsa, the main courses begin arriving. Multiple ramen bowls and dipping noodles are spread over the counter, steam wafting from them bringing tantalizing flavours in the air; the multitude is overwhelming, a beginning unseen. 

In his contemplation, the waiter goes unnoticed as they gather the empty plates and slides away- until Aikawa begins to wave at the waiter in a cheerily agressive manner, the waiter already halfway across room from them.

The waiter pauses breifly, tilting their head towards them.

"Another two beers please!" Aikawa calls out, pushing the empty can to the side, and the waiter nods.

Risu picks up his own beer, and gives it a gentle shake, assessing the small amount of beer still left within. Bringing it to his lips and leaning back, he feels the now warm beer pool into his mouth. Swallowing, feels thankful for the new cold beers coming, and resolves to keep up to Aikawa.

Glancing back down at the ridiculous affair in front of him, he simply just grabs the nearest bowel to begin eating; Aikawa's head in the meanwhile is already bowed low over a bowl. Aikawa only grins at him over his bowl breifly, giving him a a thumbs up in encouragement of helping himself to any of the bowls before him. They eat and eat, food and thick broth filling them, sour, sweet and spicy all coming together. Beers are placed before them, and they are slowly drained along with the bowls. 

As Risu slows, his appetite waning as he becomes full and feeling pleasantly warm and sleepy, he glances once more up again at Aikawa; the man is still rapidly inhaling his food before him. Risu wonders breifly if Aikawa had ate anything else that day, at the amount and the rate of food being swiftly put away. He was always stealing food from the kitchens, and didn't give the vibe that he was particularly well off- nor was anyone really attending the school after all.

Fishing the last noodles out of the bowl and draining it, he finishes it. He clicks his chopsticks down across the bowl, and instead now he simply watches, enjoying his a beer, as Aikawa steadily finishes off all the remaining food before them.

When the last drop of his beer touches his tongue and there is no more, he feels a surprising pang of dissatifaction; it was nice to have at least something to do while waiting for Aikawa to finish up. Glancing at the can, he mulls over the thought of getting another one. At sudden movement, Risu glances up to see Aikawa flagging down waiter once more, and he blinks in surprise as he cheerily orders a third round of beers. The waiter looks at them, slightly askance, but only nods and dissapears off back into the kitchen area. 

Aikawa only grins at him, before taking a long, high swig of the beer before him. The waiter brings the third round, and clears away the stack of bowls and plates before them, leaving the lone last one that Aikawa is slowly finishing. 

As he finishes the bowl and sets it aside with a contented sigh, Aikawa leans forward, his eyes sparkling- and begins asking him questions once again, letting the conversation flow between them, about the school, teachers, favourite places to eat; and again the topic of the cross eyes is avoided. Risu is partly thankful for that, as he feels that they would end up in a brawl. 

Risu, in a lull in their conversation, asks Aikawa about what type of magic he has, and at this he laughs, scratching his back of his head.

"I don't know," he admits sheepishly. 

Risu nods, shifting his beer can around. 

"Yeah, same here." 

Again a lull falls in the conversation; and strangely, it somehow feels after that exchange more comfortable, Aikawa more relaxed.

"Well, cheers to us eventually finding out our magic," Risu finally muses out, raising his beer. 

Aikawa raised his own and they gently bump their cans. 

"To us finding out our magic," Aikawa grins. 

After they settle their beers back down, Risu frowns. 

"You know, you can get tested. It's pretty expensive though." 

He looks up at Aikawa who doesn't look particularly interested to his surprise, and he faulters a bit, unsure.

"I plan on eventually taking it, once I get enough money." 

He glances back up determined; and Aikawa just is looking at him, face twisted strangely into what looks like a pained smile; but swiftly it smooths out and becomes genuine. 

"Well, I'm sure you will be able to take it soon." 

Risu smiles in return; then chokes on his beer, remembering the likelihood that he is paying for whole dinner. Aikawa glances at him, concerned, as he gasps to regain his breath, while internally he is tearfully pushing the likely time he can take the test even further into his future. 

The waiter, as if on cue with his thoughts, breifly hovers nearby, a disgruntled look upon their face a polite, please leave, you are taking too long to finish your drinks and pay. 

They finish their beers, all prepared to go; Risu clears his throat, as they sit there for a last few seconds, pushing his empty can back and forth, despair once again wedged firmly between his ribs. The despair is accompanied with nausea, and all the food that he had just eaten is unsettled within his stomach and threatening a reappearance.

Aikawa, seemingly oblivious to it all, picks his mask back up off the table, and clips it back on, his face once again dissapearing from view.

"Well, I guess we should pay for our dinner, huh," he says and stands up. 

Risu snaps his head over to stare at the man, at his slight tone of amusement, and slowly stands up as well. He cannot get a read on the man from behind his mask, but suddenly he is extremely suspicious.

Squinting, he follows Aikawa as he walks nonchalantly towards the counter, where the relieved waiter is already positioned behind, his head down and busy ringing up their order.

Suddenly, Risu's hand is being grabbed, and his body is slammed lightly against the door as Aikawa bolts out of the restaurant. They barrel through into the streets, and Risu's body following instinctively and they are running and running and running, ducking in and out of alleys. The only thing stable in those breif moment is Aikawa's hand, warm in his own, and the searing pull of his lungs as they desperately provide more oxygen to his muscles as the begin to burn.

Risus mind only catches up as they are throughly lost in the streets and any pursuit is well left behind, and he stops abruptly. Aikawa's hand falls from his own, and Aikawa takes a few steps before pausing, and turns to look at him. 

"Did we just dash and dine?" Risu wheezes out, bewildered.

Aikawa just looks at him through his mask, the glass in his mask glinting. Then he starts laughing, and Risu just stares at him, as he continues to laugh, long, hard and loud, until he is crouching over as he wheezes the last few out. Suddenly, Risu joins with a short bark of a laugh, squeezed sharply out between his ribs at the ridiculousness of the whole situation before him. He shakes his head, tired.

As Aikawa straightens, catching his breath, he speaks, voice is grinning with amusement. 

"That ramen chain belongs to En, so to those high and mighty sorcerer's that you hate." His voice drops, becoming less amusing as he continues. "There is more then getting yourself killed to work against them."

Risu pauses, processing all that he said, before scowling deeply. 

"You just wanted free food, like always."

"Yeah so?" Aikawa shrugs. "It works too."

"It's illogical! You can't always do this! Besides you won't be eating enough to really dent their funds anyways!" He spits out, gesturing aggressively.

Aikawa shrugs again, disinterestedly.

"Free meal off the backs of wealthy people, no issues with that. Besides, the cross eyes aren't an organization that's meant to bring down the high end magic users and force equality." 

Risu steps forwards, and grabs the front of Aikawa's hoodie. 

"One meal isn't an invitation to tell me how to live my life, and who to trust." He snarls at him. 

For a second Aikawa is tense against him, then he suddenly deflates. 

"Fair enough," He says, shrugging out of Risu's grasp.

There is a pause, as they stand in the street, not far from each, each breathing hard.

"Hey," and Aikawa's voice is suddenly cheery again, "there's a great place that sells beer for cheap if you're down from drinking a bit more!" 

Risu lets the quick change of topic slide. 

"I'm down, if you're actually paying," he grumbles. 

Aikawa chuckles.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Do I endorse dashing and dining in large food chains? Possibly...


End file.
